


A Breath of Fresh Air

by fangirlingtodeath513



Series: Season 12 Coda Fics [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: 12x23, 12x23 coda, All Along the Watchtower - Freeform, M/M, Post-Episode: s12e23 All Along the Watchtower, all along the watchtower coda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 11:45:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10943838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlingtodeath513/pseuds/fangirlingtodeath513
Summary: Dean had gotten too happy. That was his mistake. He’d let himself believe after Ketch’s death that they would all come out of this okay. That somehow, they’d all make it back to the bunker and Lucifer would be iced and they could focus on the Nephilim problem. They’d put the Bunker back in order, and Castiel and Mary could move into their rooms permanently. Dean would cook and they would all hunt, and everything would be okay.





	A Breath of Fresh Air

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very dissatisfied by the finale, so I wrote. I ended up writing three codas (one mildly happy, one super happy, and one angsty as fuck). *shoves codas at you* Enjoy!
> 
> This one is the mildly happy one.

Featherless. Bent. Broken.

 

_Please, Chuck, please come back. I need you to bring him back. I need him._

“You stupid fucking son of a bitch. We _told_ you the plan. We _told_ you. We had it under control. And you waltzed right the fuck in there and got yourself killed. You fucking _idiot_ , Cas. Damn it.” He ignores the breaks in his voice and the tears rolling down his cheeks, opting to focus his eyes on the sky again. He takes a few deep breaths, his eyes fluttering closed after a moment.

 

He was gone. Castiel was really and truly gone. Of course, it felt like that every time, but this time… This time was different. His wings were burned on the ground around Dean, and Chuck… Chuck flapped off to who knows where with Amara. There was no doubt in Dean’s mind that Chuck wouldn’t be of any help to them.

 

So this was it. This was the last time. Castiel’s final death. Hardly seemed fitting, him being stabbed in the back by Lucifer. The one problem they’d never managed to take care of. Of _course_ that’s the thing that would come back to bite them in the ass. Things were too good. Mom was back and Cas… Cas was somewhat normal again.

 

Dean had gotten too happy. That was his mistake. He’d let himself believe after Ketch’s death that they would all come out of this okay. That somehow, they’d all make it back to the bunker and Lucifer would be iced and they could focus on the Nephilim problem. They’d put the Bunker back in order, and Castiel and Mary could move into their rooms permanently. Dean would cook and they would all hunt, and everything would be okay.

 

He shakes his head at his own foolishness, a broken sob escaping his lips. He’s surprised he can feel anything right now. He’d watched the blade rip through Castiel’s chest, watched Lucifer smirk at him as the lo- as his best friend’s grace burned out and his wings burned into the ground. He lets out a sigh, looking up at the sky again. Fuck it. He’s too damn old for this. Lucifer had smirked at him as the love of his life’s wings had burned into the ground.

 

He rubs a hand over his face, looking down at the angel again. In reality, he’d known. For a while. I mean, who makes a mixtape for a platonic friend? Of course, Castiel hadn’t known the meaning of it, but… it’d made Dean feel better. Like he’d actually expressed himself. Of course he couldn’t do it with words. He’d only ever said those words to his mother in the last… however many years since all this shit started.

 

 

*                                                                      *                                                                               *

 

Castiel is dead and Mom is trapped in the other world with Lucifer. Sam heaves a sigh and glances at Dean’s defeated figure kneeling next to Castiel. Sam knows his brother won’t leave the angel’s… body. Cas’ body. Wow. He swallows thickly, resigning himself to his fate before turning and heading into the house. The Nephilim needs to be dealt with as soon as possible, and Dean’s certainly not equipped to deal with that at the moment. He walks upstairs to the bedroom Kelly was in, gingerly closing her eyes, idly wishing they could’ve found a way to save her. He sighs again, looking around for the baby, his eyebrows furrowing when he doesn’t see it. He hears a loud bang in the distance and his eyes widen, walking back into the hallway. It takes him a moment to spot them: the footprints leading out of the bedroom and down the hallway. He follows them nervously. They lead into what Sam assumes was the nursery for the child. He considers turning the lights on in the room, but his feet carry him forward before he decides on an answer. His eyes sweep the room slowly before he finds a figure curled up in the back-right corner. The Nephilim’s head lifts slowly and his eyes flare yellow before fading. His head tilts as he stares at Sam.

 

“You’re not Castiel.” His voice is much softer than Sam expects. Sam swallows and shakes his head.

 

“Uh, no, I’m… I’m a friend of Castiel’s. Cas is… Your father killed him.” The Nephilim’s eyes flare yellow again and his lips curl into a snarl and for a moment, Sam’s life flashes before his eyes.

 

“Take me to him. _Now._ ” Sam nods quickly, handing the child a blanket and leading him to the back yard. His brother doesn’t even look up, and Sam’s heart sinks. He rests a hand on Dean’s shoulder gently, his voice soft.

 

“Dean. Come on, step out of-” He doesn’t even finish his sentence before Castiel’s body glows a bright yellow color. Dean’s eyes widen and he straightens up, looking between the Nephilim and the angel.

 

*                                                                      *                                                                                *

 

Castiel sits up quickly, drawing in a deep breath. He blinks a few times, confused. He’d felt Lucifer’s blade sink into his back and rip through his chest. He’d felt his grace burn. His grace. _His grace_. His grace was healed. He could feel it swirling through the vessel, fixing everything that was broken, even the angel blade sized hole in his chest. He looks between Sam, Dean, and… what must be the Nephilim.

 

“What… What happened?”

 

Dean doesn’t even give his angel a moment to breathe before grabbing the labels of that stupid fucking trench coat and crushing his lips against Castiel’s. The angel’s squeak of surprise is incredibly endearing, but Dean has other things to focus on. His hand finds its way to Castiel’s hair, gingerly cradling the back of the angel’s head.

 

They break apart after a few moments and the angel’s eyes slowly flutter open, locking onto Dean’s. Dean swallows nervously, one hand still gripping the trench coat’s lapel.

 

“I love you. I love you so much. God, I love you, you fucking idiot.” Dean kisses him again, wiping his face quickly.

 

Sam shakes his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “About fucking time.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr [here(:](https://fangirlingtodeath513.tumblr.com/)
> 
> PLEASE DO NOT POST MY WORKS ANYWHERE BUT HERE OR TUMBLR WITHOUT MY EXPRESS PERMISSION.


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